[DocSanae]

Welcome to the board, thank you for joining us.

Lap banding by standard medical term is called "laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding".

The thread about basic criteria for bariatric surgery in the US is in this thread, and basically, medical criteria in foreign countries are also the same, though the definition sometimes is revised due to the differences among various ethnicities in the appearance of obesity realted issues.
Basic Criteria for Surgery.
The BMI calculator is linked into this thread.
BMI is body mass index, and is a way of measuring obesity by checking the ratio of your weight to your height.
It is the standard used in the medical definition for overweight and obesity, and when we talk about obesity and surgery, the medical society goes by this, so insurance companies follow suit.

The original information article from NIH is this.
Gastrointestinal Surgery for Severe Obesity.

A bit on the workings of how you lose weight in the following thread.
How do you lose weight through weightloss surgery.

Incidentally, banding is not the only surgery that can be reversed. Bypass can be functionally and totally revised, too, according to papers published in medical journals. The catch is, any bariatric procedure that is reversed without conversion to other methods will almost invariably result in the return to obesity.

Whatever method you choose, the surgery is a TOOL to help you revise your eating habits and improve your life style, and help you keep those newly aquired habits so you can keep your weight stable at the point that it will not endanger your health.

Good luck on your search and research,.
(((((((HUGS))))))) May your journey go well.

[gillam]

Hi thanks for the info, themore I research the more I learn.

[lennaslimo]

i had the band and going gastric august 6th. i too was scared to go drastic and have gastric. wish i had of did this first go around. but everyone is different and has to do what they feel is right for them. i personally think with the band the only time your tight is when you first get a fill for a week or so. i too was able to eat sweets and never would get sick on the sweets. so there fore i didnt do good with the band. i know with gastric not even try a sweet. and i wont be. i lost 50 pounds on the band but lost 30 of that right in the first few weeks. the rest was a struggle and took awhile. i am so glad its now out and im better and can do what i should have done to begin with. in case you didnt know my lap band got infected so they had to remove it. good luck whatever you decide to do . just read all you can and get info from people on here. also obesityhelp.com is a great place to go for info.

[MsVickie]

This might help you out a bit.

The Lap Band is the band they insert. They will fill this like a week later or 2 weeks depending on the Dr. You have to go back to have this one filled more every so often along with X-rays or CT scans to check the position. This is the one Carlie Simon had done. Shes a singer. She has a web site you can go read her story.

There is also the Laproscopic Gastric Bypass. My Dr Calls this the Keyhole surgery. Any where from 3-6 Tiny holes are made to have the Gastric Bypass. They do detach the stomach and staple it. This is the one Im having if all goes well. If not they will resort to the next one.

There is the Open Gastric Bypass. They only do this if its necessary if they cant do the Keyhole surgery. With this one they open you up at least 6 inches. They do the Bypass this way.

I agree with the others when they tell you its a personal decision. We have a few on this site that had the Band did first then now are either going to do the Bypass or have done it. Like the others I to thought about the band and was pretty much decided on it. I have had 2 surgeons look at me and agree Im a great candidate. The first one showed me the band and let me hold it. The surgeon i went to next is the one I chose. He refuses to do the band. I had to ask him why. He stated to me he has done this surgery now for 20 years. According to him the band is like the surgery's they performed in the 80's. They just don't have a great result and don't work well for long periods. To be honest I would be afraid of a recall. LOL. I know Im silly but I work in the medical field and see to much.

Now the price tag on it is much cheaper yes. You have to include the Dr's Visits with this.......the Fills.....the Test and X-rays they will do every so often to make sure its still in the right place.

I contacted my insurance company regarding this. They WILL NOT pay for the band. They call it to experimental still. So yes they would rather pay for the 40 grand instead of the 25 grand. I don't know if your a cash paying patient or not. If so.... most Dr's and Hospitals will cut there prices for self pay. All you gotta do is ask. The ones were I live the hospitals give you a 25 percent discount. Most Dr's will do it for what Medicare reimburses them back for this.

Again its a personal decision. The best tool you can use is what your doing now is researching it. I hope this helped a bit? Take care and Im sure you will make the right one for yourself.